The present invention relates to a paging receiver and, more particularly, to a paging receiver having an audible and a tactile annunciating means.
A prior art paging receiver, on confirmation of a call, notifies a person who carries the receiver of the call either in an alert mode which uses sound or in a vibrator mode which uses vibration or like tactile implementation. The person selects one of the alert mode and vibrator mode by manipulating a mechanical mode changeover switch. This type of paging receivers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,352,091 (issued July 5, 1983) granted to the same inventor as the present invention, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,392,135 (issued July 5, 1983) granted to Ohyagi.
For example, when the person carrying the receiver selects the vibrator mode, he or she may put the receiver on a belt or in a pocket to physically sense vibration due to a call and, thereby, see the receipt of a call. In the alert mode, on the other hand, he or she confirms a call by hearing sound.
A prerequisite with the prior art paging receiver stated above is that in the vibrator mode a person has to constantly put the receiver on his or her body, i.e., putting it off the body would make it impossible for one to confirm a call. Hence, while the receiver is not on a person's body, the alert mode should necessarily be selected.
In practice, however, such mode changeovers impose a considerable burden on the user. It often occurs that a person puts the receiver away from his or her body without changing over the annunciation mode through negligence and, thereby, fails to notice a call.
Furthermore, even if the alert mode is selected, it is difficult for one to surely notice a call in a factory and other noisy environment which are apt to drown out the alert tone.